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Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones
Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones
Author Derek Landy
Cover Artist Tom Percival
Date Published April 6th 2009
Date Set In October 2008
Publisher HarperCollins
No. of pages 395
ISBN 978-0-00-730216
Publication Order
Preceded by
Playing With Fire
Followed by
Dark Days
For the Dark Gods of the same name, see Faceless Ones.

Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones is the third book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series.

Plot[]

Synopsis[]

In The Faceless Ones Valkyrie Cain and Skulduggery Pleasant are investigating the murders of four Teleporters. They go to tell Thurid Guild what they know. He refuses to rehire them and has hired Remus Crux instead. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go and talk to a Sea Hag that lives in a lake and may know who killed a Teleporter 50 years ago. They discover a man named Batu killed the Teleporter. They also discover that an object called the Isthmus Anchor and a Teleporter would be able to open a gateway to the Faceless Ones allowing them to enslave the earth. With China Sorrows's help they locate a boy who is an unskilled Teleporter and save him from Billy-Ray Sanguine who is working for the Diablerie. Sanguine talks with his mysterious boss and is given a new job.

They take the Teleporter whose name is Fletcher Renn to Kenspeckle Grouse who agrees to look after him, tells Valkyrie she should do normal teenage things and gets annoyed at Skulduggery for endangering Valkyrie. Tanith Low is guarding the only other living Teleporter when she finds him dead in his apartment after talking on the phone to an old friend. Tanith chases the Teleporters murderers onto the roof and is ambushed by three people. Tanith is knocked off the building and manages to hang onto the outside of the building going through a window and escaping. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to Finbar Wrong, who is able to tell them the location of the gate. They then meet with a Necromancer, Solomon Wreath who offers the help of himself and three other Necromancers. Skulduggery accepts after punching Solomon and leaves. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to where the gate will open and talk to the owner of the land. While they are talking Skulduggery realizes that what is left of the Grotesquery is the Isthmus Anchor.

Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to the Sanctuary to steal the Grotesquery but are attacked by Remus Crux who is easily defeated by Skulduggery after the Diablerie used Sanguine to steal the Grotesquery first. Skulduggery and Valkyrie use an emergency exit to avoid being captured by the Sanctuary. Remus tries to get China's help and reveals he knows something about how Skulduggery came back to life and China's involvement. Ghastly Bespoke wakes up at Kenspeckle’s and Tanith, Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to Bespoke Tailors and Ghastly is told what happened while he was a statue. Ghastly then starts making Valkyrie new clothes. While making her boots he tells her about his mother and a vision she had of Valkyrie dying screaming in pain.

The owner of the farm where the gate will open, Paddy calls to report a strange man who was there. Mr. Bliss talks with people who want him to take over the Sanctuary. Skulduggery tells Paddy about magic and Fletcher locates the exact point where the gate will open. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to get the Sceptre of the Ancients and find another black crystal. Batu goes and enlists the Sea Hag's help in exchange for transporting her to the sea. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to Gordon Edgley’s house and he tells Valkyrie there are black crystals in the caves. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go into the caves and find a replica of Gordon’s house in the caves that was created by the previous owner of Gordon’s house Anathem Mire. Anathem is inside the house, dead, and Skulduggery wakes up his ghost. Anathem shows them a vein of black crystals and Valkyrie removes a large one as only people with blood of the Ancients in their veins can touch black crystals without being killed when they are not in the Sceptre. Anathem forces Skulduggery out of his house but takes Valkyrie capture but after angering him she is able to escape.

At the Hibernian, Thurid comes to collect Fletcher, but is knocked unconscious by three members of the Diablerie - Jaron Gallow, Gruesome Krav and Murder Rose - and also Sanguine. They attack Ghastly and Tanith and then leave with the unconscious Thurid. As they leave they tell Tanith and Ghastly to bring Fletcher to Liffey Bridge to trade for Thurid otherwise Thurid dies. Skulduggery and Valkyrie go to China’s to fix the Sceptre of the Ancients and learn that Valkyrie is the only person who can use it when she accidently destroys a table, two of China’s bookcases full of priceless books and almost kills China. Skulduggery and Valkyrie meet up with Ghastly and Tantih at the Hibernian. Fletcher teleports with Valkyrie to Bespoke Tailors and they wait there for Skulduggery, Tanith and Ghastly. Inside Bespoke tailors they find Solomon, two other Necromancers and the White Cleaver who follows the order of the Necromancers.

Valkyrie goes home to say goodbye to her parents who are leaving on their honeymoon and after leaving is chased and then arrested by Remus Crux. Crux puts her in a cell with Vaurien Scapegrace, lying that there were no more empty cells. Valkyrie and Scapegrace, who was badly beaten up and had his fingers broken by Cleavers as a distraction in part of Skulduggery’s plan to steal the Grotesquery, fight. Scapegrace tries to kill Valkyrie and she knocks him out and ties him to a bed by his broken fingers. Tanith learns that Crux has arrested Valkyrie. Crux attempts to arrest China and handcuffs her only to be attacked by Jaron Gallow. Crux jumps through a window to escape and China refuses Jaron’s offer to lead the Diablerie and leaves using her symbols as he tries to kill her.

At the trade on the bridge they capture Sanguine when he comes over to tell them what's going to happen. Fletcher and Thurid Guild walk towards each other crossing at the centre of the bridge and Sanguine tells Skulduggery that there is a bomb in Guild's jacket that would kill them all when detonated. Skulduggery shoots Guild in the leg to prevent him from coming closer and tells Fletcher to stay near Guild as Jaron won’t want to risk killing Fletcher. As the three members of the Diablerie start to run at Fletcher but are attacked by the three Necromancers. Sanguine uses a device designed to flash blind that doesn’t affect Sanguine or Skulduggery as they have no eyes. Skulduggery knocks out Sanguine and then Tanith believes they have won until the Sea Hag jumps out of the water and takes Fletcher. With the deal done, the Diablerie retreat.

Valkyrie manages to trick a security guard into letting her out of her cell and she knocks him out and takes Vaurien Scapegrace with her as he could be used as a distraction. Valkyrie witnesses the new Administrator, who is the traitor, attempt to kill Mr. Bliss. Valkyrie turns to see Scapegrace fleeing and attempts to stop the Administrator who pins her up against a wall. Then Scapegrace runs into the room screaming chased by Cleavers and runs away. The Cleavers look at the situation with Mr. Bliss in a circle of blue light that is killing him, Valkyrie suspended on the roof by the Administrator and the Administrator standing there, and advance on the Administrator. The Administrator tries to run, letting Valkyrie fall to the ground as she does and Valkyrie trips her causing her to fall into the blue light killing her, destroying the light and saving Bliss. Valkyrie then runs out of the Sanctuary and Skulduggery who is outside takes her to the farm.

Upon reaching the farm they discover Ghastly and Tanith running for cover as they are attacked by the Diablerie who have machine guns and hand grenades. Tanith, Ghastly, Skulduggery and Valkyrie hide with Paddy in his farmhouse. The Diablerie start to open the Gateway using Fletcher and the Grotesquery and Valkyrie puts on her new clothes. They are then ambushed by a couple hundred Hollow Men. Paddy persuades Valkyrie to put on the ring he was going to give to the woman he married as the rest of them attack the Diablerie. China, a dozen Cleavers and the Necromancers appear and start killing the Hollow Men. As Fletcher begins to open the Gateway. Tanith is about to be killed by Murder Rose but is saved by the White Cleaver, who injures her. Tanith gets inside the house and Bliss arrives and starts beating up Krav. While Valkyrie and Paddy are looking for First Aid supplies for Tanith, Sanguine arrives and attacks Tanith. Paddy tries to shoot Sanguine with his shotgun but is knocked out. Valkyrie then slashes open Sanguine's stomach with Tanith’s sword. Then three Faceless Ones come through the gate and Fletcher manages to escape after the shockwave caused by their arrival. One of the Faceless Ones takes over Krav’s body and then kills Mr. Bliss.

Paddy gets Valkyrie the Sceptre then reveals himself to be Batu as he knocks Tanith out and hits Valkyrie with the Sceptre. Valkyrie realises that the ring Batu gave her is preventing her from using magic and removes it allowing her to burn Batu’s side. Batu takes the Sceptre and hides it in the trees being followed by Valkyrie. Batu watches the Faceless One kill the Cleavers and then listens to Murder Rose be taken over by a Faceless One. Remus Crux attempts to arrest Valkyrie and she knocks him down. She then watches Skuduggery battle the Faceless One and a Necromancer being killed. Jaron removes his arm and the mark allowing the remaining Faceless One to know where he is. China finds Crux, who has the Sceptre. China is given the Sceptre by Crux and then turns to see Valkyrie running towards her with a Faceless One running behind her. Valkyrie raised the Sceptre and fired black lightning twice into the Faceless One that had consumed Krav, killing it.

The second Faceless One attacks China, Skulduggery and Valkyrie. Fletcher appears and teleports Valkyrie out of the way. The Faceless One pulls the Sceptre out of Valkyrie’s hand and shatters it destroying the black crystal, and itself with it. Skulduggery decides to get the last Faceless One to chase Valkyrie and go through a new portal. Batu is consumed by the last Faceless One. Skulduggery and Valkyrie stop the Faceless One from killing Ghastly, and Valkyrie runs through the trees while being chased by the Faceless One. They manage to get it in front of the new portal and Solomon and Skulduggery try to force the Faceless One into the portal. Then Solomon is knocked back and Skulduggery is the only one who can stop the Faceless One, who lifts him off the ground. Solomon gives Valkyrie his cane full of his Necromantic power and she uses it to knock the Faceless One back as the cane was destroyed. The Faceless One shoots out tentacles made of its organs in a last attempt to save itself that destroys its host body when Skulduggery blasts it through the portal with a blast of air. Skulduggery then throws the Grostesquery (which Fletcher had used to open the portal) through the portal. Then a tentacle came through the rapidly closing portal and pulled him through. The portal closes and Skulduggery is gone.

Later Solomon Wreath approaches Valkyrie and she angrily tells him that Guild is claiming full responsibility and saying Skulduggery did nothing. Solomon tells Valkyrie that there is a new Isthmus Anchor and that it is the skull that Skulduggery had lost. Solomon then tells Valkyrie that she is a natural with Necromancy and she will need more power than she has now, and hopes she will choose to become a Necromancer.

This information was taken from Wikipedia

Chapter List[]

Trivia[]

  • The Faceless Ones is Derek Landy's mother's favorite book.
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